New Study

Utility Water Conservation Programs Save Water, Lower Customer Bills

SB 1469 (Bradford & Becker): Granting Water Utility Decoupling Makes It Easier to Achieve Significant Water Conservation

SAN JOSE, Calif., April 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- California Water Service (Cal Water), the largest water utility regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission, released a new study today demonstrating that its water conservation efforts from 2008 to 2019 significantly lowered water use, which decreased operating costs and in turn reduced customer bills by as much as 20 percent from what they would have been without the conservation efforts.

Water conservation has been shown time and again to be the lowest-cost source of supply, because when less water is used, costly investments required to produce additional water supplies can be deferred and potentially avoided. This study, “The Economic Value of Water Efficiency,” is yet another proof point showing that water conservation promotes affordability.

Because of its commitment to both water conservation and affordability for customers, Cal Water supports SB 1469 (Sens. Bradford/Becker, Asm. Rivas), a bill that allows water utilities to implement decoupling. Decoupling is a tool that ensures that water utilities do not benefit when they sell more water.

Cal Water substantially increased its water conservation efforts beginning in 2008, when the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) allowed the company to establish a pilot program that implemented decoupling. An August 2020 decision by the CPUC ordered that decoupling would end beginning in 2023. Passage of SB 1469 would allow this valuable mechanism to continue and enable utilities to continue to promote conservation, which is especially critical in California given the drought environment.

“As California learns to adapt to more frequent and severe droughts and aims to make conservation a way of life, it is critical we better understand and leverage policies and conservation practices that result in the most bang for the buck,” said Martin A. Kropelnicki, President and CEO. “Our study shows that conservation practices work to not only save water, but also save customers money. Passage of SB 1469 will ensure we are able to keep our focus on water conservation efforts that will be critical to adapting to climate change and, at the same time, improve water affordability.”